It was a draw but it was almost like a win. We didn’t deserve to lose the game but it felt like we would from the moment we fell behind. We played well, created chances, but it had that “one of those days” stink about it from pretty early on I thought. To grab a point so late, and so spectacularly, feels massive.
I was totally convinced we were never going to score. I felt that way from the moment Salah had that one cleared off the line by Rudiger in the first half. We’d squandered several chances before that and it was clear that the front three just weren’t quite right once again.
Eventually Shaqiri came on but he was just as wasteful, missing a sitter and producing a tame free-kick. Thankfully at least one of the forwards remembered his shooting boots. Shame he only got five minutes like, but thankfully it was enough.
I’m certainly not at the point just yet where I’d be making Sturridge first choice, but I'll tell you something, another couple of games like this and I probably will be. I can’t believe I’m actually saying that, but that’s where I’m at right now. I keep waiting for the front three to run wild on someone, and each week it doesn’t happen.
We’re nine games in now and still no closer to it happening. Sturridge, meanwhile, is our joint top scorer despite only starting two games, and he's averaging a goal every 40 minutes or something. Can we afford to NOT pick him at this point? For now, yeah, but this can't go on indefinitely.
If we’d lost this game it would have been on the forwards, because the rest of the team all did their jobs. If the forwards had done theirs as well then the game could have been won in the first half. Maybe I’m being overly critical. Maybe my expectations are too high. All I know what we’re seeing at the moment is not what we were seeing last year.
So for us to still be joint top despite them not having caught fire yet is testament to the job the rest of the lads (and Klopp) are doing. We can't keep on winning week in week out unless the front three hit form though.
I feel as though Mo is really, really close. It’s small margins, but that’s all it takes at this level. He was brilliant in the first half. He did everything right all the way up until his final pass or shot, which was SHITE. The runs, movement, turns and little interchanges of passing to get him into those positions were fucking ace. Vintage Mo. It’s just that final moment kept undermining it all.
There’s no cause for any long term alarm but I’ve got to admit I’m getting a little twitchy that we aren’t where we need to be ahead of the City game next week. If the front three are on it we’ll beat them handily. If they aren’t, it’s going to be really tough.
I was more pissed off with Mané though. He was doing my head in with some of his decision making. That overhead kick, I mean fucking hell. What possibly possessed him to think that trying an overhead kick from 16 yards, with his weaker foot, was a good idea? Especially when Milner was all alone a few yards to his left.
Things like that have plagued us all season. Bobby is the only one who doesn’t seem to frequently make shit decisions. He wasn’t as influential as we’re used to in this game but he was alright. He should have scored with that header though. One of the biggest falsehoods in football is the coaching mantra about "always head the ball down". I hate that shit, it's a complete myth. Head it in the fucking net, whether that's top corner or bottom corner is irrelevant.
Bobby should have done better there, but Salah and Mané were the bigger problem overall.
The midfield were a little hit and miss too, but it’s hard to be too critical of them considering who they were up against. That Chelsea midfield three is really good. It’s not easy playing against them, especially when you’re also worrying about filling the spaces that Hazard likes to drop into.
There was just a lot to like about the overall performance but I found the game to be massively frustrating because of the wastefulness in front of goal. We missed chances but just as crucially, we messed up so many situations that should have led to more clear chances.
Chelsea defended well, especially in the second half, but I felt as though they got away with murder in the first half because they should have been punished. Last season we'd have put four or five past them given the same type of opportunities.
Defensively we restricted them to very little, but with the quality they have it only takes one lapse and they’re in. Alisson needed to make a great save to deny Willian after he had got in behind Robertson and collected a stunning ball from the impressive David Luiz. That was seriously against the run of play though.
We were the better side in that half and generally controlled things, but then Chelsea put together a brilliant move to slice through us and take the lead. Great football, superbly worked, and well finished by Hazard. I feel as though Alisson could have done better but I also think he was a little unlucky.
He was bouncing to stay on his toes and not get caught flat footed, but Hazard got his shot away as he was in 'mid bounce'. By the time his feet hit the ground and he sprung to his left, he was a just fraction late and couldn’t get there. Not an error, he wasn’t to blame, but on another day I think he might save that.
As I said the other night, I’m fucking sick of Hazard always turning it on against us. We actually played him really well and he wasn’t that influential, but he’s so good that it only takes one moment for him to turn a game. That was the only time we saw in him in the first half.
He wasn't in it much in the second either, although he did go clean through when we fell asleep on a quick free-kick, but once again Alisson stood tall and made the block. Over the course of the game we had comfortably the most chances, but Chelsea had the clearest ones. Only three of them, but they were all one on ones with the keeper. We had loads of good opportunities though, and Shaqiri squandered an absolute sitter.
He’d been brought on for Salah, a decision I didn’t agree with. It had to be Mané for me, but Klopp has subbed Mo a few times now and I don’t know if there’s a little more to it than maybe meets the eye. Is he sending him a message that he’s not untouchable? Is he just trying to protect him because it’s early in the season? I dunno, I just think it’s a little odd.
Had Shaqiri put that chance away Klopp would have looked like a genius. The cross from Robbo was just begging to be converted, but Shaqiri’s right foot is just for standing on and he messed it up badly.
I was furious at that point. Not specifically with Shaqiri, just the overall wastefulness of the performance. We’d gone to Chelsea, a really tough place, and played very well. But we were going to have nothing to show for it. With City having won earlier in the day we’d lost top spot and we were about to see Chelsea overtake us too. It would have been really demoralising after the start we've had.
You know what was even worse? We were about to end the day only three points ahead of Arsenal. How the hell was that even possible? We had a 100% record going into the game, yet we were about to be only three points ahead of fucking Arsenal?
I’d given up. We were never going to score. I’d felt like that most of the game. The players kept going but I reckon they thought the goal was never going to arrive either.
Then Shaqiri got the ball 30 yards out and shifted it onto his left foot. “Don’t you fucking shoot” I yelled at the TV. He rolled it to Sturridge. “Don’t you shoot eithe…. YYYYYEEEEESSSSSS”.
That goal was a thing of beauty. As soon as it left his boot you could see it was going in. He tried the exact same thing the other night and hit the bar, but he was a few yards further out this time which meant it dropped underneath the bar. It’s just a fucking gorgeous goal, I’m not sure it will be topped this season. Not only is it a great goal, it is a massively important one, and it was also Sturridge sticking it to Chelsea. In the last minute.
They’d been chanting “Chelsea reject” at him seconds before he scored. What a way to shut them up. They’re a sad little bunch. Continually chanting “always the victim” and just generally being obnoxious twats. They don’t deserve the team they have or the manager they have.
Our fans unveiled a banner in support of Grenfell, their fans respond with chants about Hillsborough. The saddest part is that none of us are even surprised. Par for the course with Chelsea.
We can take a lot from this game, but only because Sturridge scored. If we’d lost then none of the positives would really mean anything to me right now as I’d still be too pissed off. Having come away with a point though it’s definitely easier to view things through a half full glass.
Van Dijk was phenomenal. What a player. Alongside him, Gomez was seriously impressive too. One or two minor lapses apart, he just looked like a superstar. Quick, strong, composed. The sky is the limit for this lad, but his development is being massively sped up by playing next to Van Dijk. Would he look this great if he was partnering Lovren or Matip? That £75m spent on Virgil is a bargain, because at the rate Gomez is developing we might actually have two Virgil's pretty soon.
Those two were the pick of the bunch. Robbo didn’t have his best game and was probably only a 7 out of 10, which is a bad day at the office for him as he’s almost always an 8 or occasionally a 9. Trent was fine on the other side, and Gini had a good game. Milner was hit and miss and I thought Hendo was just very average.
He was frustrated at being subbed. I doubt he was pissed off with the decision, more his own performance. He sets high standards for himself and he'll know he was pretty average and can play better than that. He also knows that he's going to need to if he's going to stay in the team.
Klopp has a decision to make for next weekend. Naby looked sharp after coming on and for tactical reasons alone probably has to start against City. Ox did a lot of damage to them last year with his ability to break the lines and run through their midfield. Keita is the one best equipped to replicate that, and you’d have to say right now that Hendo is the one most likely to make way.
I don’t think any long term conclusions should be drawn from that, as form fluctuates with players and in a few weeks Hendo might be out performing Milner and Wijnaldum. Right now though he isn’t, and he may find himself on the bench for City because Gini has been our best number six so far this season.
We’ve got Napoli before then of course, but if I’m being honest I’m not particularly bothered about that game as it’s all about City for me. We can afford to lose in Naples and still progress from the group so it isn’t the most important game we’ll play, even though it might be one of the most difficult.
The team that faces Naploli should be selected with City in mind. I really hope it is, even if that means being careful with Van Dijk and maybe giving Milner and Bobby the night off.
That City game is the most important league game we’ve played since Chelsea in 2014. Even though it’s early in the season this is huge. Not many teams are going to take points off City so we have to do it ourselves. We can’t be losing or even drawing with them and then relying on others to get a result against them. We’re going have to do it ourselves if we’re to finish above them.
We’ve already shown three times in 2018 that we’re capable of turning them over, but we had the best front three in world football running wild in those games. Maybe Klopp should show them videos of those games this week to try and get them firing again. Hopefully the sight of those sky blue shirts will get Mo's juices flowing again and he'll explode back into life.
Star man is Sturridge. Probably should have been Van Dijk in fairness, but that was such an important - not to mention brilliant - goal, that I’m going with Studge.
Team: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson; Henderson (Keita), Wijnaldum, Milner (Sturridge); Salah (Shaqiri), Firmino, Mané:
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